Tapiwa Mufudza

The 33-year-old off-spinner was selected by caretaker coach Walter Chawaguta, who took charge after Dave Houghton's departure last month, citing a loss of control over the team amidst disappointing results. Mufudza's consistent and impressive performances at the domestic level in Zimbabwe paved the way for his inclusion. Additionally, pace bowler Faraz Akram, previously part of the Twenty20 side, is set to make his ODI debut. The scheduled ODI matches are on January 6, 8, and 11, while the team will also play three T20I matches in Colombo on January 14, 16, and 18.

India entered the series on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe in the preceding ODI series, but suffered a shocking loss in the opening T20 last Saturday before getting their act together in the second game on Monday.

It was the first time that the young team was tested on the tour and it faltered on key moments to suffer an unexpected loss. Another fighting contest will be welcome but beating a wounded India could prove to be a too big a task for the home team.

The ODI series proving to be a stroll in the park, MS Dhoni would look to finish his current season with another dominant performance when he leads India in the three-match Twenty20 series against a hapless Zimbabwe, starting on Saturday.